


A Study in Cooking

by Nichellen



Series: Fudge [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-04
Updated: 2013-01-04
Packaged: 2017-11-23 10:39:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/621201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nichellen/pseuds/Nichellen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sherlock Holmes was in possession of one very important document. It was handwritten, and Mrs Hudson had deserted him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Study in Cooking

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moonblossom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonblossom/gifts).



> A fic (of sorts) for Moonblossom as part of The Twelve Days of Moony.
> 
> Thanks go to [HiddenLacuna](http://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenLacuna/pseuds/HiddenLacuna) and [Batik](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Batik/pseuds/Batik) for their eagle eyes and encouragement.
> 
> Thanks also to my Grannie Bunn, the real Mrs Hudson here. The graphics are as she wrote them, but the (betaed) contents are also included at the end of the fic for clarity if anyone should want to experiment (and feel free to do so!).
> 
> Remember, the fic also continues after the graphics (just in case).

Sherlock Holmes was in possession of one very important document. It was handwritten, and Mrs Hudson had deserted him.

Christmas had just been and gone, and Mrs Hudson’s sister (Tina? Tabetha?) had booked herself and a “friend” a well-intentioned New Year’s holiday to watch the ball drop in New York. Of course, when things went sour with this latest interest at the last minute, it was Mrs Hudson who was called upon to use the tickets it was too late to refund. And, Sherlock supposed, sit awkwardly with her sibling through events designed to be romantic.

Except that she should have been helping Sherlock be romantic. To John. The document she had left him with didn’t really count. She knew John had only started to talk to him again via text on Christmas Eve, and had only been persuaded to meet “down the pub” on Boxing Day. Sherlock had even gone to the pub on Boxing Day. He was yet to be allowed into John’s flat, but that didn’t matter so much as John’s eventual return to 221B. Which was essential. Mrs Hudson knew this.

John was still very angry and, unfortunately, Sherlock was still very much officially dead. Even with the help (hindrance?) of Mycroft, coming back from the dead tended to be a tedious business. It got in the way of bringing John ‘round. Wooing, Mrs Hudson called it. But then Mrs Hudson thought a document of recipes was suitable material for said wooing. Sherlock suspected (knew) otherwise. Apologies and excuses or not, what Mrs Hudson had left him with was insufficient for the task.

John knew about cooking; unlike Sherlock, John was experienced in feeding others (Sherlock). He would spot any inconsistencies in the finished results and that would be that. Sherlock wanted to feed John, to fill out the hollows that hadn’t been there 2 years, 6 months and 3 days ago. But how? The restaurants and takeaways that once owed Sherlock were all under the impression that he was deceased, and Sherlock did not think that reintroducing himself to their proprietors was an activity that should be undertaken in the presence of John. Sherlock’s jaw still ached now and then after John’s first sighting of him in 2 years, 5 months and 11 days (and 5 hours, 47 minutes).

“Oh, but dear, I have to go. And it’s just chemistry really. It would be an experiment! Now I really must go...”

Sherlock decided that the document Mrs Hudson had left Sherlock might benefit from being typed up. Scientific experiments were always aided by clarity and precision, and Mrs Hudson’s overly flamboyant scrawl was anything but. The recipes could be pinned to the wall, and the familiarity of dealing with information in that format might help Sherlock’s thought processes. The wallpaper looked bare these days, without the familiar smiley face and bullet holes.

Sherlock’s laptop was all the way in his bedroom and, the flat only having one occupant (at the moment), there wasn’t a John-computer anywhere closer. Sherlock pulled his oatmeal jumper straight before he levered himself from his thinking position on the sofa.

Typed up and pinned to the walls the recipes appeared... exactly the same. The Sangria looked more and more enticing to Sherlock, but Mrs Hudson didn’t really know that much about Harry (and Sherlock himself only what he had deduced out of John), so Sherlock wasn’t sure John would appreciate anything overly alcoholic. Now, John liked fudge. Used to like fudge. Would sit and eat fudge on the odd occasion that the opportunity arose. Had John’s eating habits changed? John was thin enough; he wasn’t dieting -- but the only thing Sherlock had seen John consume recently had been a pint of Henry (one of those abominable non-alcoholic concoctions, half lemonade, half orange juice), which he had nursed as if it had been a proper pint.

The orange biscuits then. Mrs Hudson knew how to make so many biscuits that John liked. Were these some of them? Sherlock’s fingers tangled in his hair as he paced out his indecision. The jumper he had found, packed away for safekeeping, rose up where it was too small, but Sherlock hadn’t yet replaced the dressing gowns that had vanished. They would return, when (if) John did.

Collapsing in his armchair wasn’t the same, but Sherlock did it anyway. One day John would be sitting opposite him poised to roll his eyes, and Sherlock needed to be ready. Practised. Only he didn’t have time to practice cooking. New Year’s Eve was a day away and Sherlock needed to maintain the momentum of Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. John was thin, he wasn’t sleeping and he had buried himself in his work. (John had a proper position now, since Sherlock had died.) John was a doctor, he should appreciate the sentiment of food.

Sherlock’s sentiment.

Apple Chutney maybe. John would be able to take it away with him if... if he didn’t want to stay. Sherlock could even give it to him if he couldn’t be persuaded to come. With good-quality honey. Clover perhaps, or blossom. Sherlock almost fretted about where to shop, until he remembered that lifetime bans expired upon death. The trip should be uneventful.

The trip was eventful. George Luke Ashford (George Lucas hadn’t really worked, although John loved “Star Wars”) was now banned from Waitrose. At least the ban was only limited to a specific 24-hour store this time. Sherlock had the fruit and the onions and the... other... stuff, which he piled into the fridge (no experiments, John would not object) indiscriminately. He could discriminate the next day, when he cooked. Attempted to cook. He suspected he would need rest for that kind of experiment, which meant sleeping. Which meant sleeping pills. He sent off the first of what he deduced would be a few texts after he'd readied himself for bed. Only 11:54, but there was nothing else he could do.

“Sherlock?”

Sherlock blinked open eyes that had snapped awake when he had been more used to natural sleep. The clock read 09.34.

“Sherlock are you okay? You texted me, it didn’t make any sense, are you all right?” John.

John.

John held up his phone, displaying the text that Sherlock would have sworn had been coherent when he sent it last thing the night before. Sherlock blinked at it, his mind still sluggish. “John...” He managed.

“What have you taken?”

“Sleeping pills.”

“What sort, and how many?”

“In the bathroom, by the sink.” The more Sherlock woke up the less worried John appeared to be. “John...”

“Why?”

“I... I wanted to be rested. Experiment.” Sherlock knew John must have seen, “You saw.”

“The recipes? On the wall?”

Sherlock swallowed. Nodded.

“Which one?” John must have thought Sherlock was okay (out of danger) now. If he hadn’t John would have been doing doctorly things, but instead he remained on the edge of Sherlock’s bed, picking at Sherlock’s oatmeal sleeve like he was bemused.

Except that the sleeve wasn’t really Sherlock’s, was it? It was John’s. Was the jumper John had killed in. For Sherlock. Sherlock winced.

“The... apple chutney.”

“The chutney?” John smiled, small at first, so the hollows in his cheeks looked fuller again. Then wider, sadder, as he reached to push Sherlock’s hair from his face. “We need to sort you out. Those pills, that’s not good Sherlock...” John looked towards the bathroom, but he didn’t yet move his hand from Sherlock head. “But later -- when we’re done with that, how about we try the fudge?”

RECIPES:

1\. Savoury Scissors:  
3 rashers (slices) of streaky bacon (de-rind and chop finely)  
1 potato (peel and grate)  
1 onion (peel and chop finely)  
1 egg  
1 ounce of self-raising flour  
Salt  
Pepper  
A little fat for frying  
Instructions:  
Mix together in a bowl the bacon, potato and onion. Add salt, pepper and flour. Heat fat in frying pan. Put in dessert spoonfuls (1 dessert spoon = 2 teaspoonfuls) of mix and fry on either side until golden. Serve hot.

2\. Punch the Bishop:  
2 lemons  
Cloves  
2 bottles of port (Ruby)  
1 and a half pints of water  
3 ounces of lump sugar  
Mixed spices  
Instructions:  
Stick 1 lemon with cloves and bake for half an hour. Put the port in a pan and bring almost to boiling point. Boil water, sprinkle with a pinch of spice and add to hot port. Add lemon. Rub sugar on rind of second lemon and then put sugar in a bowl with half of the juice of the second lemon; pour on to wine mixture. Get drunk.

3\. Orange Biscuits  
8 ounces of self-raising flour  
5 ounces of margarine  
5 ounces caster sugar  
Grated rind of 2 oranges  
1 egg  
1 tablespoon of milk.  
Instructions:  
Prepare oven (375 degrees Fahrenheit, Gas Mark 5). Grease baking sheets. Place flour in a bowl. Cut margarine into small pieces, add to bowl and cut into flour until the mixture has the texture of breadcrumbs. Add in caster sugar and orange peel. Separate egg, and beat up white with a fork. Beat egg yolk and milk together. Add dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix into a firm dough. Turn out on floured board and knead until smooth. Roll out to one-eighth of the thickness. Brush with egg white and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar. Cut into 2-inch rounds and place on baking sheet to allow for spreading. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until pale golden brown.

4\. Fudge  
3 ounces butter  
1 1/2 pounds granulated sugar  
1 large tin of unsweetened evaporated milk  
A few drops of vanilla essence  
Instructions  
Melt butter over low heat in strong, but not enamel, saucepan. Add sugar and milk and stir gently until sugar is fully dissolved and all gritty sounds cease. DO NOT BOIL BEFORE SUGAR IS FULLY DISSOLVED. Boil the mixture steadily for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Test in cold water. The mixture should be a deep straw colour at this point. When cooked, beat in vanilla essence; continue beating it as it cools and thickens. Whilst it is still soft enough, pour into a prepared greased tin. Cut into squares before really cool.

5\. Apple Chutney  
7 pounds Apples  
1 pound onions  
1 pound sultanas  
4 pounds brown sugar  
1 teaspoon spice  
1 or more of ginger  
1 teaspoon salt  
1 teaspoon pepper  
1 quart vinegar  
Instructions  
Peel, core and chop apples; cook them with the sugar and chopped onion. When these are soft, add everything except the vinegar. When well mixed, add the vinegar and simmer until the chutney is the right consistency. Bottle and cover as for jam.

6\. Ginger Nuts  
1 pound flour  
1/2 pound sugar  
6 onces Trex (http://www.trex.co.uk/)  
1/2 pound syrup  
1 teaspoon ginger  
Bicarbonate of soda  
1 egg  
Salt  
Instructions  
Melt the Trex and syrup. Mix all the dry ingredients and add the egg. Then add melted Trex and syrup. Put on a greased baking tin in pieces the size of walnuts. Flatten with hands.

7\. Cold Lemon Soufflé  
7 eggs  
1 ounce plain gelatine  
8 ounce caster sugar  
3 tablespoons hot water  
1 lemon rind, grated  
Juice of 3 lemons  
Instructions  
Tie a band of buttered greaseproof paper around an 8-inch soufflé dish to come 4 inches above the top of the dish. Separate eggs; place yolks and sugar in a basin and whisk until light and fluffy. Add lemon rind and juice and beat in. Lightly whip cream. Dissolve gelatine in hot water. Stiffly beat egg whites. Add cream to lemon mixture, then gelatine; fold in egg whites. Pour into prepared soufflé dish and leave in a cold place to set. Remove band of paper. Decorate with nuts and cream. (serves 6)

8\. Cherry Gandy  
2 ounces glacé cherries  
½ pound icing sugar  
1 ounce ground almonds  
1 egg white  
1 ounce citrus peel  
a few drops of cochineal  
Instructions  
Rub sugar through sieve. Chop cherries and peel into small pieces. Whip white of egg to a stiff froth. Add almonds, cherries, peel, cochineal and enough sugar to form a stiff paste. Form into a square. Press it well and cut into bars with sharp knife.

9\. Date Nut Cake  
8 ounces self-raising flour  
½ teaspoon salt  
4 ounces margarine  
4 ounces soft brown sugar  
8 ounces stoned dates (divide into 6 ounces and 2 ounces)  
3 1/2 ounces halved walnuts (divide into 3 ounces and ½ ounces)  
1 level teaspoon mixed spice  
2 eggs  
5 tablespoons milk  
Instructions  
Sift flour and salt into bowl, rub in margarine. Add sugar, 6 ounces dates, 3 ounces chopped walnuts and mixed spice. Mix well. Beat eggs and milk together. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. Turn into greased, floured square shallow tin and decorate top with remaining walnuts and dates. Bake in moderate oven; (375 F; Reg. 5) for 45 minutes.

10\. Coconut Ice  
1 pound icing sugar  
1/4 pound desiccated coconut  
1 egg white  
1 tablespoon milk  
A few drops of cochineal  
Instructions  
Sieve the sugar, add the coconut and milk, whip the egg white and add enough to the mixture to form a soft paste. Line a cardboard box or cake tin with greaseproof paper and turn half the coconut ice into it. Colour the remainder with a few drops of cochineal. Turn this out on top of the white ice and press so they stick together. Leave in a warm room until the next day.

11\. Bread -- to make four loaves  
3 pounds plain flour  
3 ounces lard  
1 1/2 ounces yeast  
6 small teaspoons salt  
Lukewarm water and milk (half milk to 1 1/2 of water), about 2 pints or less.  
Instructions  
Rub in lard with flour and salt. Make well in centre and add yeast and a little lukewarm water. Leave for 5 minutes. Mix to stiffish dough, adding remainder of milk and water by degrees. Knead well for 10 to 15 minutes. Cover with cloth and leave in warm place until well risen. Divide dough into fourths. Roll into shape. Place on greased baking sheet and leave in warm place to rise for 15 minutes. Bake -- hot oven (try 425 F).

12\. Sangria  
1-2 lemons  
2-3 oranges  
1-2 apples  
1-2 glasses brandy  
1 bottle lemonade  
2 bottles red wine  
Caster sugar to taste  
Instructions  
Put ice cubes in a large bowl. Add the sliced or roughly cut oranges and lemons and the sliced apple. Stir in brandy and then add red wine and lemonade. Get drunk.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Cover for A Study in Cooking](https://archiveofourown.org/works/699623) by [moonblossom graphics (moonblossom)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonblossom/pseuds/moonblossom%20graphics)




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